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Ace Combat 5 is airborne w/ wings of innovation and passion.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: July 31, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Integrating the movie effect into the new Ace Combat hit made it even better in some ways making not only a pilot out of you, but an actor as well, to lead a team of 4 pilots and combat aircraft towards victory under the wings of innovation and passion. You fly your choice of the usual arsenal of planes currently in service, and the new JSF. The planes come with a certain number of unique weapons as designed specifically for either air-to-air or air-to-ground combat along with the usual payload of missiles. Although none of the plane's ordinance configurations could be customized, you get to pick the planes your wingmen fly in later missions to meet all types of contingencies, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare, tank hunting, escort missions, search and rescue, interception, attack missions, and surgical air strikes, in over 30 different areas of operations. The graphics and sound have been vastly improved, but the most notable improvement over the previous versions is the incorporation of engaging cinematics in the presentation of the story, turning Ace Combat 5 into a more amusing interactive aviation experience.

Splash {get} this game before it flys off the shelves

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 22
Date: August 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Ace Combat 04 was a good game, but after a while of flying the same missions over,and over again. The missions get so boring you know what to expect, and with the right plane such as the X-02{or dreamstar as I call it.all you Dale Brown fans should know what I am talking about} you can beat the game in one day, but Ace Combat 05 is the jewel that I can't wait for. More weapons, more planes, customizable colors, wingman commands. The only other game that may top Ace Combat 05 is the fact that Grand Theft Auto San Andreas comes out the week before. Your mission in this game is to defend your homeland, and like a Dale Brown novel your base is between your homeland and Enemy Territroy. Defend the homeland with a poetent arsenal of weapons and aircraft including Dreamstar {X-02} go air to air, air to ground, but try your best to keep the enemy from your country. Good Hunting on 10/25/04 Dismissed!!

Mindblowing

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 06, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Absolutely superb. Most games this fun rarely have a storyline. Games like Warcraft 3 and Ace Combat 4 (the previous installment in this series) are loads of fun, but lack an interesting storyline.
In fact, this is so much the opposite that the storyline is part of what makes this game great. On top of great graphics, sound, and gameplay... I found myself rushing through some of the missions JUST to see the cinematics.
The storyline is compelling. Ace Combat 4 was pretty much a story of "here's the bad guys- let's kill them all" seen from a civilian's perspective. You fought the bad guys, they died, the credits rolled; not so in Ace Combat 5. You're kept ignorant to the bigger story, much like a soldier would be, and for much of the game I wondered if I was even fighting on the right side. While the calls for peace from Captain Kei Nagase get a little redundant and annoying after a while, the story does send a very powerful message, and you experience the horrors of war firsthand. It's mixed with movie-style shockers and twists... making the story grip you as much as the gameplay.
Even if you're after all-out action, Ace Combat 5 is still a great buy. The controls are simple to understand, and playing on up to 12 different difficulty levels pleases the beginner AND the 'Ace' at the same time. More dramatic, frequent and realistic transmissions from your allies and enemies really pump the levels up. I found myself getting a slight adrenaline rush while playing several missions :)
This game is nearly perfect- but with 1 major flaw. It lacks multiplayer capability. In an age where games are not only multiplayer, but online capable, a great game such as this made only for 1 person is a HUGE letdown. I would've liked to see 2-4 player campaigns, maybe an arcade where you can fight allied or against each other, let alone some online action. I was really looking forward to this since Ace Combat 4's less-than-satisfying multiplayer mode. However, if you are able to look passed this major flaw, this game is in all aspects PERFECT. However, since I consider multiplayer and online play a very important part of games, I'm giving this a 4/5.

Great Graphics Do Not a Great Game Make...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 17
Date: October 29, 2004
Author: Amazon User

CONCEPT: Your home country of Osea is under attack by an invading nation. Lead a handful of fighter pilots on a variety of missions in a variety of planes to repel the invaders.
GRAPHICS: WOW. Photo-realistc aircraft and terrain make this game absolutely beautiful. Realistic weather and altitude effects add to the mix to provide an absolutely stunning visual experience.
SOUND: Aircraft engine and weapon sound effects were great, as were the sound of targets being destroyed. You see the explosion, THEN you hear it. Very nice... Now, the game sound is another point that I don't like. The radio chatter, although nice at first, gets VERY annoying, VERY fast. You hear ground forces arguing about who is better, and your fellow pilots also complain about some of the most inane stuff imaginable, all during the heat of battle. However, the catch is that the radio chatter sometimes provides key mission updates. Radio or no radio? That is the question...
CONTROL: Nice and tight, just like Ace Combat 4. Although now, you use the D-pad to issue wingman orders. Nothing much new to report as far as controls are concerned.
WHAT'S NEW: Now, you can issue wingman orders, and decide what fighters the three other pilots in your squadron fly. You can have some in air-superiority fighters, while others buzz the deck in ground attackers. It's all up to you.
OVERALL: I had this game for about 2 days before I took it back. I got so SICK of the lame dialogue, and the silly "Can't we all just get along?" message that was so pervasive throughout this game. Don't get me wrong, I think that real war is terrible, and should be avoided, especially if it isn't necessary (current world events...), but a game with "Combat" in it's title shouldn't be so d**n preachy!!! Also, there is very little variety to the combat. Some missions are air-to-air, others are air-to-ground, and others are a mix. But after a while the idea of "Fly around, do some rolls and loops, shoot down some fighters, take out some tanks, end of mission" gets OLD. Anyway, fans of the "Ace Combat" series will dig this one, I guess I just lost interest.

met my expectations, but fell short in other areas.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 24, 2004
Author: Amazon User

i became a huge fan of the ace combat series many years ago after ace combat 3: electrosphere came out in japan. i have had higher expectations since 4 was released and even higher with 5.

firstly, the gameplay is great.. but there were moments where i felt intimidated by missions and dropped the controller for sometime. i have a tendency to have a short attention span for games, but this game still kept me interested. the missions have definitley improved, becoming more unique and interesting also tying in with the plot and such....

i have to say that the game itself has wonderful graphics and is much more engaging than the previous titles. i think this is because of the addition of continuous radio chatter, although it became annoying at times. it especially became annoying when copilots would speak to you in the middle of a tense situation. nevertheless, it still beats having dead silence or no activity at all.

the game itself still retains the same control, with a few minor changes and additions. explosions and other details have been improved greatly, but the camera angles seem to have taken a step down. i don't really like the missile cam in this installment.

to sum it up in short, a lot of improvements with a few minor short comings. i'm thankful that the point scoring missions have been taken out of the 5th installment (those were really a pain), but overall, i feel that the game was worth purchasing.

Not as good as 4

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The game itself is ok, worth playing and will frustrate the heck out of you. That said, they've added several annoying features in this game since 4. Constant chatter from your wingman and then chatter you have to answer, useless chatter, while you're in the middle of combat. Too many cut scenes and some of the scenarios you'll just be shaking your head as to their stupidity.

Now the game play similar to 4, you get your money and get to buy upgraded planes although unlike 4 you don't get to select your weaponary per plane. Whatever plane you select determines what type of weapon you get. There are 29 overall scenarios with lots of kills to get both on the ground and in the air. They give you the feature of wingman control and you can tell them to attack, disperse, cover and to use their special weapon. Controls are similar to that of 4 except for the directional pad which controls your wingman options. And you have to pick your planes for your wingman upon the start of each scenario, which is mildly annoying but allows you full control.

There are campaign scenarios and an arcade mode which brings you back to the storyline in 4 and let's you just go from battle to battle with no save option.

Overall, if you like flying games you'll like this however the annoyances I mentioned about plus a host of others within certain scenarios will leave you shaking your head. For example, they make you follow some guy for 10 minutes as he weaves and twists and heaven forbid you fall too far behind or you have to start all over. That was probably the stupidest scenario of the game. I would hope if they make a version 6 you get the option to cut the annoying chatter that is constant throughout the game plus the music options and cut scene options.

Can't Believe How Good It Is!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: March 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

As I played Ace Combat 4 and noticed all the Ace Combat 5 commercials, I thought to myself, "There is no way the Ace Combat series could get any better." I stood corrected. Even though I thought the fifth version wouldn't be as good, I asked for it for Christmas anyway with high hopes that it would be good. Of course, I got it, and I was taken for surprise at how good it was. The first levels are a bit boring, but I stuck with it, and now I've beat the game five times, and it's still not getting old. The graphics are a hundred times better than in Ace 4, and the storyline is also a lot better. It's also a lot more realistic in the sense that you are flying in a squad, and not on your own (even though the squad doesn't do that much to help your cause). I like how the jets turn black past a certain point, and the obstacles on many levels are just as hard, if not harder than the megalith on Ace 4. The one thing that I liked better on Ace Combat 4 is the freedom you get fighting on your own. It was super exciting to shoot down the whole yellow squadron on my own, but I also enjoy receiving all the compliments from my squadron on 5. Love it. Go get it.

On its own merits, it's a masterpiece.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Ace Combat 5 is a game that is very much victimized by the reputation of its predecessor. I'm certainly not going to dispute the quality of AC4, but the fans of that game have often overlooked the simple and obvious fact that AC5 is an entirely different game. Many of the complaints against it are nothing more than minor gripes about things that were changed, regardless of the impact on the finished product.

Visually, Ace Combat 5 is spectacular. The aircraft models are extremely well-detailed and terrain is nearly photo-realistic. AC5's framerate remains superbly smooth at all times. Little touches like the wonderfully detailed missile trails make it all the more enjoyable. The CG cutscenes are also of extremely high quality.

Sound quality leaves almost nothing to be desired. It makes excellent use of directionality on my 5.1 system and is always crisp and clear. Fine attention has been paid to nuances such as the time it takes for the sound of an explosion to travel to your plane. Voice acting is generally high quality, although a small bit of it does seem rather flat.

Radio chatter adds a great deal to the ambience. On one of the early missions, for example, there will often be no less than three people talking at once, making it seem all the more frantic. Early on in the missions, your wingmen tend to chat about their feelings regarding the war or about their personal lives. That touch of intimacy goes a long way toward establishing a sense of camaraderie.

Control was my biggest gripe with Ace Combat 4. It always seemed just a bit clumsy and never gave me quite the level of precision I wanted. The new installment has cleaned that element up considerably, making it much smoother.

The game's big new feature was wingman control, which has been criticized rather excessively. You can give them general orders such as cover, attack, or disperse, and they generally follow them well enough, but it's necessary to underdstand exactly what those orders entail. Also, you can't possibly expect your wingmen to come and cover you while they're in the middle of chasing down an enemy plane. Another complaint about the wingmen is that they're not very useful, which is decidedly false. When commanded properly, they can deal quite a lot of damage to enemy forces, although never as much as you. You are, after all, playing as the greatest ace in the war.

The game's plot is exceptionally good for the type of game, although it certainly wouldn't hold up as the basis for something like a role-playing game. It has a couple of decent twists, as well as an abnormally high amount of character development. I find the criticisms about the anti-war message completely unfounded, as the characters always go off to battle willingly. There's nothing wrong with them yearning for peaceful times. If they didn't want peace, what would they be fighting for?

Overall, the game is excellent. Many small changes have been made since AC4, but they're well-executed when placed in the proper context. It's a different game, and should be viewed as such.

A Kid's Review

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: July 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Me and my brother received this game for Christmas 04 and I love it. I have beaten it once without any help! It is not easy but it is not really hard either. We also have Ace Combat 4 which was also a blast. It takes a couple of missions before you get to lead your own squadron. You can tell your "wing men" what to do on the dirrectional pad. Sometimes they will ask you questions and you answer yes or no. In one of the missions you have to locate one of your squad members. This game does not get old but I am an airplane-helicopter enthuasist. This game has several new planes including the F-32 joint strike fighter which is my favorite plane on the game. If i could give it more stars i definently would. I would recomend getting this game but it is your choice.

Best Flight sim ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: September 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This definetly the best air combat game I've played. Though not strictly a flight sim the physics are close enough that it feels real enough and is still crazy fun flying around. The game has an arcade mode where you simply blast planes and boats till you get shot down or meet your target kills. Of course it's the story mode that sells this game which I can't simply go on enough about. Though not that useful in a fight through radio chatter you really get a feel for the personalities of each of your wing mates. There's about 30 missions and it starts off quick with one of your teamates being shot down early and you having a mission to try and retreive them begind enemy lines. Thanks to the enemy secret weapons such a nuke capable sub some battles feel epic as I neared the climax my heart was racing. Though maybe not the best written story in a game I've ever come across it's rare I've ever been so drawn into a story before. An absolutely amazing game

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